Azure Synapse Link in Power Apps stopped sending new files after Oct 16 – now appending to existing files

Hello Weronika Kacprzak,

Thank you for sharing your scenario.

To clarify based on the current behavior of Azure Synapse Link: you cannot use "Append Only" mode, table replication with partitioning, and "Incremental Update Folder Structure" all in the same profile because these are mutually exclusive configurations.

As documented, incremental update mode (which creates timestamped folders with change data) only works when:

• The option "Connect to your Azure Synapse workspace" is not selected
• And "Enable Incremental Update Folder Structure" is turned on
• And the profile is configured specifically for incremental updates, not full table replication

Additionally, incremental updates export data as CSV files and do not support Delta Parquet format or "Append Only" behavior. On the other hand, "Append Only" applies only when you're exporting full tables in Parquet format, typically used for analytics workloads but this disables the time-based folder creation pattern associated with CDC-like flows.

So, if your table was previously working like a CDC (change data capture) system using incremental timestamps, but now has "Append Only" enabled, it's likely that the underlying profile shifted to table replication mode which means it's no longer producing true incremental update folders, even if the setting appears enabled.

If I disable Append Only, will it still work the same way as before?

Not necessarily. Simply disabling "Append Only" won't restore incremental update behavior unless the entire profile is set up correctly for incremental updates (with Synapse workspace connection disabled). If the profile was created with "Connect to your Azure Synapse workspace", then incremental update folder structure is disabled by design, regardless of other settings.

It seems that disabling this option might not be possible, so I may need to create a new Synapse Link. Is that correct?

Yes, that’s correct. Since configuration modes (table replication vs. incremental updates) are locked at the profile level, you’ll need to create a new Synapse Link profile dedicated to incremental updates ensuring that:

• You do not select “Connect to your Azure Synapse workspace”
• You enable Incremental Update Folder Structure
• You set your desired time interval (e.g., hourly)
• You avoid enabling "Append Only", as it does not apply in this mode

This new profile will resume generating timestamped folders (yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSz) containing CSV files with changes, provided data modifications occur during each interval.

Because this is a distinct configuration question and involves a different setup goal than the original post, I kindly suggest starting a new thread on Microsoft Q&A with your specific details. That way, your issue can be tracked separately, receive focused attention from the community and engineering teams, and remain visible even if others aren’t monitoring this thread.

You can reference the official guide here for setup steps:
Configure Synapse Link for Incremental Updates

Please "Accept as Answer" or click 'Thumbs Up YES' if the answer provided is useful, so that you can help others in the community looking for remediation for similar issues.

Thanks

Pratyush

Thank you for your question on Microsoft QnA.

I understand that your Azure Synapse Link to Dataverse (via Power Apps) was previously creating new timestamped folders hourly in your Data Lake, but since around October 16th, it has stopped generating new folders and is now appending data into existing files instead with no changes made on your side.

This behavior change is likely related to how Synapse Link handles file writing modes. By default, when "Append Only" mode is enabled during table configuration, new data is added to existing Parquet files rather than triggering new folder creation with timestamps (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/azure-synapse-link-synapse). This setting can be found under Manage Tables > Advanced Settings when configuring your Synapse Link. If this was toggled — either by a user, automation, or a backend service update — it would directly impact the output structure.

While there hasn't been an official public announcement about a platform-wide change to this behavior in October 2025, Microsoft has previously updated Synapse Link's export logic to improve performance and reduce storage overhead by reusing file handles under certain conditions (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/export-data-lake-faq#how-is-data-exported-from-dataverse-to-the-data-lake). These updates are sometimes rolled out silently across tenants and can affect export patterns without explicit notification.

Additionally, known limitations of Synapse Link include potential inconsistencies in folder naming and file rotation during high-frequency exports or after environment upgrades (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/azure-synapse-link-troubleshooting-guide). It’s worth checking whether any recent updates were applied to your Power Platform environment around the time the issue started, as these could influence backend processing behavior.

To help narrow down the cause:

• Can you confirm the current state of the “Append Only” toggle for your linked tables?
• Has the number of records changed significantly, potentially affecting batch handling?
• Are you using incremental refresh pipelines downstream that might be sensitive to file structure changes?

Understanding these details will help determine if this is due to a configuration drift or a broader service behavior adjustment.

Thanks

-Pratyush